Farther Away
by Airrah11
Summary: Omegaverse, Bucky (Alpha), Steve (Beta), FemOC (Omega). Poly. "Make a deal with the Devil to save yourself and all that awaits you is the short road to hell..."
1. Over My Head (Cable Car)

_**A/N: Here is the first chapter of Farther Away, my new Avengers Omegaverse fanfic centered on a triad relationship between Bucky (Alpha), Steve (Beta), and FemOc (Omega). As always with my stories I would Really appreciate it if you told me what you think of this first chapter down below! I have five chapters written, so if you follow you can get a feel of the story as it unfolds as I do plan on posting all that I have written before I declare it a Miss if it doesn't get any replies. Thank you so much for checking this story out and I hope you enjoy! :)**_

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It was dark in the team's assigned quarters where they were hidden in Wakanda and most everyone was asleep except for Bucky and Steve and Wanda, who Bucky could hear rustling around in the small kitchenette.

They had been there for three weeks and it had been a long three weeks.

He had originally wanted to be put back under- put on ice as Scott had joked- but that had not been well received by his soulmate and even though he had no doubt he could convince Steve to let him do it, Bucky couldn't bring himself to put him through that.

They had just gotten each other back and Steve had been chasing him for almost two years since the Triskelion fell- Bucky couldn't do that to him.

Steve was his beta, and as such it near pained him to be away from Bucky- his bonded alpha.

A part of him wished he hadn't reaffirmed the bond when they'd been given sanctuary in Wakanda, being bonded meant that the two of them would always be uncomfortable if separated and Bucky should know- when he'd fallen from the train he'd suffered from withdrawals caused by the bond. And then he'd been told of Steve crashing in the Atlantic and he'd thought for sure that what he had felt then was the pain one felt when their mate was gone.

And then they had wiped him for the first time and he learned to live with the pain to the point where he almost couldn't feel it at all.

And after each wipe he underwent his memory of the bond faded to near nothingness and with it, the last connection he had to his past.

But Pierce had undone virtually everything that Zola had accomplished with him when he'd ordered that Bucky kill his own mate.

He'd only properly realized after he had near beaten Steve to death- " _I'm with you til the end of the line."_ \- that phrase had struck him harder than any fist could and as the helicarrier began to collapse into the Potomac he had followed his instincts and dived after him.

It might have all been instinctual, it might have been the alpha in him that felt compelled to save a member of his pack, but whatever it had been- he thanked God that he followed through.

It had been too much for him to handle though- too many old memories bubbling to the surface, too many feelings rushing through his veins, it was just _too_ much.

He had left Steve on the riverside and fell back on his Hydra training, disappearing until he could think straight and then searching for all that he could to try and get a grasp on who he was- he was James Buchanan Barnes, Bucky. He was _not_ the Asset.

He still had to remind himself of it every day- on bad days, several times a day.

It was part of the reason he had wanted to go back under- he felt out of control all the time, even when he wasn't being controlled with the HYDRA codes.

But when he had brought it up to Steve and he'd seen the way Steve had turned crestfallen- trying hard to maintain his composure but ultimately failing- he knew he couldn't go through with it.

Steve needed him by his side- no, they needed each other. Bucky had just had to come to terms with the fact that he'd just have to trust Steve to keep him from hurting others if he was triggered again.

He blew out a breath and stretched out his legs, taking a pull from a water bottle as Steve sat with perfect posture beside him, sketching out a feminine figure on his sketch pad.

They were quiet and after a few minutes Steve laid aside the sketch pad and glanced at him with a relaxed smile, weariness from a hard day training with the rest of the team glinting out from his baby blues.

"Going to bed?" Bucky asked and Steve nodded.

"You should too."

Bucky nodded, but they both knew he would be up for a few more hours- if only to avoid the nightmares that made sleeping difficult if not impossible most nights.

Steve sighed and squeezed his right hand before heading for their shared room, squeezing past Wanda who was standing in the door with a fond smile.

Steve had taken to the Scarlet Witch more heavily as they were all squeezed into tighter quarters with one another.

She was slender and delicately built but her eyes spoke of hidden strength and firm beliefs- something Bucky recognized so clearly in his mate.

Bucky had barely spoken to her however- they didn't appear to have anything against one another, but it seemed to be that they were both on the quieter side.

He hadn't been that way before, but now it was natural for him to keep silent. Wanda though- it seemed as if she was only equipped to talk with maybe two people at most.

Introverted by nature, he supposed.

Wanda settled herself into a leather armchair and tucked into a mass-market paperback book- some bland romance or another in her native Sokovian.

He eventually turned on the radio to classical music and closed his eyes for a time.

Soon after that he broke the invisible tension.

"You either read incredibly slowly or you have something on your mind…" He sighed, his hearing not once having picked up the sound of a page turning in the past twenty minutes.

She blushed, "Ah, yes."

She dog eared her page and sat the book down in her lap.

She was dressed for bed but she had been another one of them to put off going to bed until she was dead on her feet to avoid nightmares.

It was a rare night when they were all asleep peacefully- when no one was awakened by another's wail.

Of all of them only Scott and Sam seemed to get any sleep, Clint was iffy, and Steve was anal about not revealing his own problems to everyone else. Bucky and Wanda had the most trouble, both of them regularly waking in distress.

"What's bothering you?" He asked her and she blew out a long breath.

"While I was with Stryker with my brother I came across a picture of a woman. Stryker gave it to me and spun tales of her being a role model for me to follow- lies I already knew then…" She shook her head as if to summon herself back to the point she was attempting to make.

He cocked a brow, "And?"

"When you sleep," She said slowly, begrudgingly.

He had stilled at her words but forced himself to relax- she was a telepath, of course she would be able to sense him when he was unconscious.

"When you sleep you project your memories." She continued.

She bit hard into her lip, "I saw her in them."


	2. The Monster

_**A/N: Wow, thank you so much for the replies I've been getting to the first chapter! I am so excited that ya'll are interested, and I hope ya'll can push through this one as I know it will probably not be as well received as the first, but it is necessary I feel, so you're getting it anyway. That being said, I will release the next chapter early to make up for it though I won't tell you when. If you don't like these chapters, don't worry, this is only one of three and I do not plan for anymore than three. As for what they are- They are flashbacks to the femOC's past hence why they are necessary and they will tie in further into the story. Anyway, please let me know what you think below! Enjoy :)**_

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 _(Year 1539 of the Swan, The Sunlit Kingdom, Roven. Ruled by King Thairn IV.)_

Ten year old Cassia Grace dashed through familiar golden halls in a rush of sky blue skirts- the halls of her dear Papa's palace, a place that would one day be hers to roam completely in full as opposed to the tiny portion she had been allotted to grow within.

It was important that she live separate from others, her mother had told her. Bad Nichtkin would hurt her if they knew about her and though Cassia knew Ram would always protect her- her assigned guardian was almost a brother to her and though he was as silent as she was she knew he would never let her down in any way.

Even now he walked behind her in long sharp strides, careful to stay within reach to pull her away to safety if needed.

She flashed him a wide grin, her innocent cool blue gaze beaming at him as he trailed her in full military regalia, his mask shielding his features from view- features she had never once seen.

He had surrendered his soul to the spirit of the Ram for strength Didyme had told her when her maid introduced Cassia to Ram on the eve of her fifth birthday, five years ago yesterday.

She turned back to her path and after a few sharp turns arrived at the plain oak bark doors to her Papa's office. She felt Ram cast out his senses behind her and when he clasped her shoulder to signal that all was right she entered, leaving him to stand guard at the door as she slid through the billowing gold silk curtains to see her mother speaking with Papa in hushed but strained tones.

Her mother stood tall and slim, her icy white hair falling to her waist in pin straight fashion, her equally pale skin covered in swirling navy and silver tattoos- marks of her status as heir to the Winter Kingdom by bloodright. Cassia would one day inherit the markings as well if she was chosen by the Goddess to be heir when her mother took the throne.

"Thairn, you know as well as I that we are in danger now that Mother has discovered Cassia's power."

Her mother's arms were crossed and her fingers rubbed deep into the flesh of her forearms through the dainty lace long sleeves that ended in points atop her wrists- the fashion for high born females to don themselves with beautiful laces and soft silks of their homeland's colors. Her mother wore baby blue today and never once had Cassia spotted her in any color that the Sunlit citizens would wear- oranges, reds, and browns.

Papa sighed, "What would you have me do, Kiera? I have troubles of my own to deal with- the Veil cracks on the Western Front. I love Cassia as my own, but I have a kingdom to govern."

Thairn on the other hand was decorated in the royal regalia of the Sunlit Kingdom- marking him as the King to the Kingdom's residents. His golden hair fell to hang just barely over strong shoulders, his uniform a rich autumn red, gold medals and cords aligned perfectly straight and perfectly even on his chest and shoulders and though Cassia had always thought it must be uncomfortable to wear such things, Thairn wore them well and with the grace befitting his position.

Kiera frowned and glanced away, "I suspect the emergence of her power is only a signal for more to come."

Though her mother often frowned, no lines or creases had even appeared on her face- whether to mark her age or the trials she had undergone in life. Her sharp, unyielding features were drawn in agitation- a common expression on her perfect features.

Though her mother was just as beautiful as any high born lady, or any vampire female for that matter, Cassia had always been grateful she had inherited her father's aristocratic features- the ones she had often seen painted in the hall of portraits, his expression never without some sort of grin or smirk or bold smile.

Thairn looked up and dropped his pen, his eyes very slightly widening in apprehension. "You don't mean?"

Kiera's narrowed eyes cut like the sharpest of blades, "Yes."

She glanced away after a drawn out silent moment, "Cassia, come out, my love."

Cassia blushed and slid out of the door's shadows, abashed at having been caught eavesdropping, though it was likely Thairn had known she was there from the beginning. Her mother most likely hadn't- she rarely cast out her senses and Cassia would have sensed it if she had- her mother wasn't light with the touch of her mind, usually casting without a care for the feeling she brought up in the minds of others.

Ice cracking underfoot, winter wind's chilling Cassia's skin with bitter cold.

"You have been training with Didyme, yes?" Kiera demanded and Cassia nodded.

Kiera sighed, "Prove it, use your mind to tell me so."

Cassia swallowed and focused her mind, stretching out her senses and extending herself as far as she could, sensing the whole of the Eastern corridor of the palace. Out of the corner of her eyes she spotted her Papa smile on at her in encouragement but she dare not look away from Kiera as she focused on projecting her thoughts.

 _Mama._ She began and Kiera smiled, "More."

Cassia grinned- she loved to make her mother smile- the thin lipped smile would always brighten her day and leave her with a sense of accomplisment- her mother was not easy to impress.

 _Hen tried to hunt today. I knocked him on his butt._

Kiera frowned, displeased that she had been playing with Didyme's son, but Thairn chuckled at his desk in amusement, "Good girl."

Kiera finally glanced away from her daughter and Cassia rushed to her Papa, hopping into his warm arms and beaming. But her vision began to darken and she yawned once before falling asleep, knowing her Papa had eased her into it.

Thairn sighed and turned to Kiera, "We have kept her isolated, but I don't think we can continue this for much longer, Kiera."

"I know," She breathed, crossing her arms, "It is only a matter of time until she is discovered. Until we are attacked."


	3. Teardrop

_**A/N: As promised, here is the next chapter early. I originally wanted to get it up yesterday but I completely forgot lmao. I didn't realize this chapter was so short, it's almost an interlude I suppose- so I will be posting the next chapter tomorrow to try and make up for it. Next chapter will be another chapter like the last and again, I will update early to make up to some of you who may loathe these chapters. Again, so sorry this is so short- I mass uploaded them into the doc manager all at once and failed to check. Anyway, enjoy :)**_

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"Have you told Steve?" Bucky asked Wanda and she shook her head.

"Do you remember her consciously?"

He leaned back, "No, I can recall some of the dreams sometimes. I've been getting them since SHIELD fell."

He blew out a breath, "I can… remember her presence- a few flashes of her touch, the feeling of her hand running through my hair."

"Do you think you were mated?"

He stilled at her question and narrowed his eyes her, "I'm mated to Steve."

Wanda rolled her eyes, "Steve is a beta. You're an alpha. On the file it said she was an omega."

Bucky's lips fell into a taunt line.

Wanda went on, "The others haven't picked up on it, but most of them are betas, they wouldn't pick up on it."

"And you can?"

"Yes, I was once an omega. They they started performing the experiments and… now- now, I'm not. Not in the way that counts. But I still have my sense of smell."

Bucky sighed, "I… can't sense her. It's like she's just… gone. Not dead, just gone."

They went silent.

"I've been looking for her since I joined up with the team." Wanda confessed.

"Why?"

"When I originally got a hold on her file- well, when Pietro got a hold of it- it said she was an experiment too. That she had survived everything they did to her. I couldn't read English at the time but it was a long list. Pietro could get by on English though, so he read me the basics. Most of the list was made up of medical jargon, so neither of us could really tell about that."

Wanda glanced back at him, not noticing her gaze had travelled to the floor. "The file said she wasn't human- that she couldn't die. They called her a demon."

"She wasn't." He interrupted, "I don't think... But-"

He went silent and for a moment they were quiet.

He looked up at her, "I don't think you'll be able to break the protocol HYDRA fried into me- but... I don't feel good about leaving her with them if she still is."

You want me to look into your mind?"

"I don't want you to, no. But if she was there she'd know more, and we could all use more."

They both left it unspoken that he was doing it for another reason too.

After all, who would willingly leave their mate alone?


	4. You Don't Belong

_**A/N: Haha, jk. This one is short too, so you're getting it on Saturday as well. Fuck me guys I'm sorry. The next chapter I know is over a thousand words I know. You're getting that one on Sunday (tomorrow). Don't hate me, I hate myself enough as it is for pulling this shit. Enjoy :) (?)**_

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(Year 1543 of the Swan. The Sunlit Kingdom, Roven. Ruled by King Thairn IV)

Fourteen year old Cassia gripped her gown with an unforgiving hold, the beautiful dress not perturbed in the least. This was the beginning to the end- and she knew it in her bones. Her grandmother had called them to action- called them to make a move.

The elder vampiress had bided her time till she was given an excuse to test them all. They were in the winter palace- a place Cassia could admit that she and her mother looked far more at home within. What with their icy blonde hair, and equally as chilled blue eyes- Cassia's hair having been painstakingly curled, her eyes outlined in kohl to make them pop, Didyme had said so at least.

Her gown was sky blue- a taunt on her mother's part toward Cassia's grandmother- the Queen of the Northern Isles, otherwise known as the Winter Kingdom. Her mother had complemented Didyme when her nanny brought her out to Kiera to check over.

Her mother had been almost warm tonight- Kiera was normally quite cold, harsh even- the 'Ice Princess' Papa had told her.

Thairn had told her stories of how her mother fell for her real father- Thairn's younger brother Felix-, despite them both having vastly different personalities. It had amused her to no end as a child- but now, on the eve of her fifteenth birthday, she could not take respite with his tales- not when it all depended on her.

She had been introduced to Court and luckliy her mother had stuck to her side like sticky sap- explaining how come her beautiful daughter did not speak- "Oh, Jedy dear! It would appear that the gods saw fit to curse me so that I could never hear my Cassia sing…"

Her mother had such a way with words, dazzling her way through the night while Cassia couldn't.

The hours passed until the sun was soon to rise and the guests departed. She didn't breathe easy until Didyme escorted her to her chambers, Ram following a hair's breadth behind them both.

The elder peasant class vampiress freed her hair of pins and rid her of her gown, closing the curtains and leaving her alone in her bedchamber to rest.

But Cassia didn't want to rest- not when every time she closed her eyes she could feel the presence of another in her mind.

The presense was silent- asleep. And Cassia would never willingly awaken it.

She knew the prophecies word for word, could sing tales of the presense's former glory from memory alone- and she would _never_ let the Fair Queen come to power once more.


	5. Leave Out All The Rest

_**A/N: See? As promised, over a thousand words. I'm caught up to what I have written, so I'm going to get back to writing today or tomorrow so I have a chapter or two for ya'll next Sunday. Please tell me what you think below- it really helps me to know what ya'll like, love, or hate or even just think needs to be improved and even if you don't have anything to critique me on any words of encouragement at all are ALWAYS appreciated. If you have any questions or need clarification over anything, leave your questions in the reviews/comments under accounts and I'll reply to you via PM the answers. Enjoy :)**_

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The morning after Wanda had approached Bucky found the young woman in the mated pair's room, Steve hovering nearby like a concerned mother hen.

"Stevie, stop it." Bucky sighed, rubbing the back of his neck to try and get his tense muscles to relax.

Steve rubbed a hand through his hair, "I'm just-"

"Worried, yeah, I figured that out."

Wanda waited for Bucky to want to begin patiently, pressed to the wall to stay out of their way in the meantime. Her fingers wrapped around her arms and her legs were crossed as she leaned, her form dressed in one of the few pairs of pants she owned- washed black jeans, tailored close to the leg. She was without her coat- they were in a hotter climate, so that made sense.

Bucky had kept quiet about the reason for it all- telling Steve they were just trying to trace a memory of his.

Steve had kept quiet at the admission, but Bucky knew that his soulmate had wondered what memory was so important- he hadn't made the effort to ask for help from Wanda for any of his other memories.

Bucky glanced at Wanda and nodded, sitting down in the chair they had set off to the side.

Steve crossed his arms and took up her spot on the wall, as Wanda approached. She stopped just behind him and gently pressed her forefingers against his temples, delving into his mind.

Memories flashed before his eyes- dancing images rushing past in a dizzying tangle of bright colors mixed with washed out greys.

 _A first glance- he catches sight of her as two guards guide her through the halls of the HYDRA base._

 _She is thin and sickly looking and she is near dragged by one of them. It is before he lost his memories in full- back when they hadn't properly learned what settings on the chair would keep his memories away without putting him out of commission for weeks afterward._

 _In that brief glance he can't help but compare her to the rough image of a small blond man in his memory- he couldn't place the man's face and he wondered who the man had been to him. By the time he glances back for her she's gone._

 _A flash and he can't recall anything about his life before HYDRA, or even a hint of what his past had been while he'd been with HYDRA._

 _He is in a bedroom within the base, having been shoved within even as his senses tingle and the scent of an omega within heat invades him._

 _Slowly, he walks further into the room and finds the female omega lying in a ball on the floor, a foot away from a messy bed, her form quivering as the stress of her heat bears down upon her in full._

 _He carefully breathes through his mouth but her scent still draws him closer. He bent down and picked her up- she's surprisingly light and she releases a small whimper in his hold._

 _He settles her on top of the bed and she begins to uncoil slowly and he can tell when she begins to notice his own scent as an alpha._

 _He sat down on the foot of the bed, his senses demanding he not stray from her side- that she is weak and needs to be protected, but he knows he won't be able to resist for long if at all._

 _She's delicate and thin and he wonders briefly if they are feeding her. Logically, he knows she shouldn't be able to fo into heat as sickly as she appears. Her breathing quickens and her scent strengthens. Her blonde hair sticks to her forehead with sweat and her pale skin is red with heat._

 _He glances around the room and starts- the walls are stained with dried blood._

 _His hackles rise- she isn't as weak as she looks._

 _Another flash and he feels her skin against his own as her scent corrupts his mind- winter rain and warm apples. It draws him in further and he groans as she sinks down onto him with a whimper._

 _A moment later he feels her bite him and pleasure races through him. He goes harder, and she cries out, squeezing him and spurring on his own orgasm. He stills for a moment but she doesn't pull away from his neck- she moans and he feels warm and sticky blood flow down his chest for a moment before she licks it away and her heat pulses through them both once more, setting him off again._

 _Another flash and he finds himself coming to in the bed, her blonde hair pillowing against his chest, he glances down at her and blinks hazily- how?_

 _She looks near radiant beside him, her skin softly glowing like moonlight in the dark room._

 _Another flash and about a year has passed._

 _He is being dragged away from their room, his mind a foggy, sedated mess. He can hear her screaming as they cart her off in the opposite direction of him and he blinks lazily even as his instincts demand he chase after her. Her scent still clings to him and he begins to fight off the guards hold as it awakens him fully._

 _No, no, no!_

 _He couldn't leave her alone with them- he couldn't let them touch her._

 _He blinks and suddenly is in the labs, blood drenching his clothes as he's cornered at the door that separates him from his mate._

 _She's screaming, but only he can hear her._

 _Someone is talking to him, but he doesn't recognize them._

 _He stills as her screaming cuts off._

No, no, no. _She whispers brokenly in his mind and he knows something has gone wrong._

 _A nurse comes out of the doors, cradling his blanket wrapped young to her chest._

 _He carefully rips the bundle from the nurse and she stumbles back into a guard._

 _Apprehension fills him and he can sense his mate's sorrow through their bond._

 _He unwraps the blanket and releases a stuttering gasp, horror tearing through him with the swiftness of lightning's strike._

 _No._

 _A final flash and he's pinned down to that awful, familiar chair, his mate's cries present only in his mind. They're making her watch and he tries to keep silent- he tries to remain strong for her._

 _He fails._

 _When he awakens he doesn't remember her- but he can still feel her in his mind. But he is alone in a bedroom and he gasps as his connection to her is severed abruptly, a chill knocking his mind into unconsciousness._

Bucky comes to out of the vision as Wanda stumbles back with a gasp. He stilled and stretched out his senses as an alpha- immediately sensing Steve as he stepped closer to him, but he stretches them past that and cold meets him. He blew out a breath and Steve stilled- the bresth meeting air as if chilled by winter. He can feel her, but only vaguely. Just enough though.

He glanced at Wanda, "I know where she is."

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 _ **A/N: Thanks for reading! :)**_


	6. The Devil & The Huntsman

_**A/N: Last chapter of the flashbacks to Cassia's past as far as I've written so far. Next chapters will be set in the present. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, fave'd, and followed, I really appreciate it and it is a really strong motivator like you wouldn't believe to continue a story. I have the next several chapters prewritten and though I wish they were longer (they're all just over a thousand words), I'm pretty happy with them. I have to get back to outlining this story soon though so I can write some more. If you've followed some of my other stories you'd know for prewritten stories I'll release chapters as soon as they the story gets two reviews after the most recent posting, but even if I don't, I will still post for this story every Sunday, or at least until I run out of chapters to post. I just wanted ya'll to be aware of that because I've done that for several other of my stories before and if you ever receive a notification of an update for this story before the regular Sunday- that's why. Anyway, (sorry for the long A/N) enjoy :)**_

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(Year 1546 of the Swan. The Sunlit Kingdom, Roven. Ruled by King Thairn IV)

Seventeen year old Cassia clenched her hands into fists, her nails digging into her skin but not hard enough to break the skin- they were under attack and she had been locked in her room in the heart of the palace by Didyme until she could be safely retrieved.

It was the night of the Winter Solstice and Thairn was at the capital and she was with her mother and Didyme in the Winter Palace with only the palace's servants and the stationed guards.

They had decided to come spur of the moment and it made no sense that they would be attacked- how could anyone have known they'd be here?

The Winter Palace was their most unused estate and they hadn't been here since she was a small child- since before her gift had manifested anyway- so how could her grandmother have known they'd all be here? They had only been at the palace for two days and they'd not given more than three days warning to the caretakers that they would be arriving.

The attackers were a small band of talented males enshrouded in darkness, creeping through the halls and killing all they came across until the alarm had been sounded.

She had been in the Northern Spire then, and Ram had taken care to retrieve her immediately- they all knew her grandmother had sent the band of males for her- they'd expected her grandmother to make a move soon, sooner than this in all honesty, but they had thought themselves safe within the kingdom's borders.

If anything, they had thought that her grandmother would have attacked them on the roads, but staging an attack on one of the castles? It showed far more bravado and confidence than her mother had thought her grandmother to have had.

" _She's never risk such an attack," Kiera had told her during the summer solstice of her sixteenth year._

" _She's smarter than that, at least." Thairn had drawled then, from atop the dais where he passed judgement on the criminals of society from his throne._

 _Cassia had nodded- she had trusted in her parents' confidence, forgetting that even they were fallible._

Ram burst into her quarters and Cassia rose to follow him as he guided her out into the halls and down the stairwells into the gardens where they found her mother and her mother's right hand- Philomena, as well as Didyme.

Ram and Philomena were armed to the teeth in their leathers and Ram's mask looked especially fearsome as the shadows of the night cast down upon his mask's horns.

Philomena's own mask was that of a demented clown, though every few seconds it would shift it's expression- a trait that had brought her endless amusement as a child but failed to comfort her as they rushed through a dilapidated painting in the smallest library's archives and into a hidden tunnel that would lead them to the graveyard that lay to the east, just outside the palace's perimeter where hopefully they could escape.

Cassia cast out her senses to feel the dying thoughts of several of the guards and the chilled emotions of her grandmother's agents.

She was scared and she hated it- hated that she couldn't fight, had never been trained to- hated that she couldn't use her truest power to defend her family and her family's charges.

No, she had been taught well that what would come from that would be far worse than a handful of deaths- the Fair Queen would bring destruction and death to all if she was allowed even a breath to speak.

Something her grandmother well knew as one of the last remaining of the Fair Queen's allies.

Didyme squeezed her hand as they ran through the halls and Cassia squeezed back in turn, grateful for her maid's presence.

She didn't have time to worry- she had to run and she had to run far.

When they reached the mausoleum that the tunnel opened into they found themselves trapped in the stone tomb- her grandmother's men had created a small camp for themselves in the graveyard and the only exit to the yard led to the very entrance of their camp.

"Shit!" Philomena bit out.

"What is it?" Kiera growled and Philomena whispered her reply.

"Seraphine must have known about the exit. We have a mole."

For a moment she was confused, having only heard her grandmother's name but for a handful of times before she caught on.

She worried for her father- if they had a mole he could be in just as much danger as they were.

The door to the mausoleum was cracked only barely but even as Ram quickly pulled it shut yells began to come from the outside- they had caught their scent on the night's breeze.

Philomena and Ram rushed to barricade the door with three of the stone coffins that lay in the tomb, but they all knew that their efforts were pointless- even a single vampire male could break the stone doors down and blocking it up any further would just buy them time.

But they all knew it wouldn't be enough- her father's nearest forces were leagues away and they would be found long before then.

They could head back into the tunnels, but the only other branches of the tunnel system had collapsed centuries before and it would be impossible to know what had taken them over should they even make it past the collapse of one of them- wilder creatures could have taken them over for all they knew and it would be wiser to face her grandmother's forces than those beasts of old.

Kiera coated the barricaded doors in thick ice with her touch but it would do very little more to hold them off.

Minutes passed and banging began to come from behind the doors.

Fear gripped her tightly from where she stood at the tunnel exit with Didyme- she knew they wouldn't be getting out of this, or at least not all of them.

Cassia gripped her gown's skirts in her hands as the banging grew louder with each passing moment.

Her mother cast a glance her way full of darkness and deep with emotion before turning to Didyme who stood beside her daughter.

"You know what to do, Didyme."

Cassia gasped softly, choking on her breath as she realized what her mother meant.

 _Mama, no!_

Didyme glanced down at Cassia, her pale brown eyes searching her charge before she glanced back at Kiera with a nod.

"Yes, Mistress."

Cassia cried out- the first sound she had made in years- as Didyme gripped her wrist tight, the maid's nails piercing her skin and drawing blood.

 _Didyme we can't leav-!_

In a flash of light they disappeared and the doors to the tomb were broken down, leaving Kiera with her first and her daughter's guard to face her mother's forces- a mother who had vowed to kill her should she ever see her again.


	7. Find Me

_**A/N: Schedules? What even are they? Lmao don't kill me. I had to take a week off of writing and I basically binge read fanfiction because I was riding low function wise. Anyway, here is the seventh chapter. Enjoy :)**_

* * *

The plane T'Challa had loaned them was quiet and the ride was smooth as they prepared themselves for what they might find at the HYDRA base.

Only one of them had stayed behind at the hideout in Wakanda- Scott, who had been working with several of T'Challa's scientists on the technology behind his suit.

Steve sat beside him at the back of the plane, and his beta was seething quietly to himself as Bucky rubbed his neck, his nerves agitated.

He knew why his mate was angry- he had hidden something pivotal from him, and even though he hadn't done so for long it still irritated the blond beyond words.

They were a team, they were supposed to keep each other in the know and Bucky knew better than that.

The team had left the two of them alone in the back, Sam and Wanda and Clint hovering near the front- probably to avoid the drama.

Steve blew out a breath, "Why didn't you say anything?"

Bucky was silent for a moment before dropping his hand, "Steve, I could barely remember her. All I could actually recall about her were small things. I-I… Steve, I don't even remember her name. If Wanda hadn't done her thing, I wouldn't have remembered her at all."

Steve sighed and began to relax as the hour ticked by.

"We're touching down a mile off, Cap." Clint called back from the pilot seat, "Ground is too unsteady to land any closer."

Steve sighed once more and glanced at Bucky, "Do you think we'll find anything else while we're there?"

Bucky shook his head, "No. The base was one of the ones closed down in the seventies."

"You sure she's still there?"

Bucky nodded, "Yeah, it's… weird. I can't sense her like you, but I can still sense her. It's like she's ice and you're fire. All I have to do is trace the colder bond."

Steve leaned back, uncrossing his arms as he forced himself to relax.

"I thought you said it was broken."

Bucky hummed, "It's broken in that I can't feel her mind inside of mine. Before… I could hear her in my head, feel her… presence. When it severed, she was just gone."

Neither brought up how that wasn't normal for mated couples- you might sense your partner and their emotions, but hearing what they were actually thinking? That just wasn't possible- or at least not for most.

But then again, neither Steve nor Bucky nor this female were normal by any means.

They touched down and they all double checked their gear just in case anything went awry. They hiked their way down through the thick forest before making a rough climb up a small mountain before coming across the iced over entrance to the hidden base, which Wanda quickly ripped open.

Devling inside, they spit up into two teams- Wanda, Clint, and Sam on one and Bucky and Steve on the other.

Bucky tried to search for the bond once more but it felt like it was all around him, encompassing the entire base and it was disorienting, and he knew he would just have to work around it.

"We found some files." Clint radioed and Steve replied much the same.

"Us too. It looks like they were in a hurry to leave."

Bucky shook his head, "No."

Steve cocked a brow at him and he elaborated.

"We've only found files involving her. It's like they wanted to forget about her- the other stuff is just guard reports and forgotten notes. The files- they're well kept. They specifically left the things involving her here."

"Why, though?" Steve asked aloud, though they both knew it was an unconscious question for later review.

Bucky shrugged and they continued going room by room for about an hour and a half before the Wanda radioed about finding computer hard drives.

The search continued.

They scoured the rooms for what felt like hours before Clint radioed that they found something.

Sam went to flick on the light in the hidden room and the light bulbs shattered hanging over the metal tables burst into a shower of brilliant sparks.

"It looks like a morgue." Sam murmured.

Digging out a flashlight, they scanned the room as Steve and Bucky made their way over, the light landing on a heavy metal door.

"Vibranium." Clint muttered.

"She's in there." Wanda said, approaching the door, her eyes glowing slightly as she cast out her power for a feel of what lay beyond.

Clint ripped open the keypad and hotwired it, the metal doors falling open to reveal a freezer.

Inside hung long since dried out meat, ice and frost clinging to the slabs of meat and the walls, the floors slick with moisture, lights faint and flickering from above.

They entered as Bucky and Steve found the room, appearing in the doorway to the freezer a moment later.

Bucky pushed his way inside, casting his senses till he sensed something at the back- a faint omega scent.

He pushed forward once more and the others followed till they found a thin woman laying on a bench on her side, facing away from them.

Her hair was an icy white and fell in dense princess curls down her spine, her form small and curled into a ball, her arms and legs alarmingly thin.

Bucky stepped closer until he stood above her, his flesh hand quivering slightly as apprehension filled him as he stared at the frost that clung to her skin and hair.

Steve approached and was the first to touch her, pulling back with a sharp hiss, "She's so cold it burns, Buck."

Bucky bent down with little regard for the chill and picker her up, ready to get her out of the freezer to take a better look at her.

Her skin was tinted a faint blue-white, but it was dry under his fingertips and unforgiving- almost as hard as marble.

The lighting was poor-dying fluorescents- and Bucky dodged hanging freezer dried meat as he stepped out of the freezer, putting her down carefully on a metal table.

She was as light as she had been in his memories- though she was thinner now than she'd been then.

"Wanda," He swallowed, noting how her chest didn't move with breath and her skin didn't warm as the minutes ticked by and they all surrounded her.

She wore a thin dress and her cheeks were sunken in, her lips dry and blue.

Wanda glanced at him and he glanced back.

None of them wanted to say it, but they doubted she would reanimate since she hadn't been properly cryogenically frozen.

"Try to kickstart her heart."

The young witch looked concerned at the thought but nodded after a second, stepping forward on the opposite side of the table and placing a hand atop the blonde's chest, the other hand placed against the her temple.

Within a moment she had sparked the other experiment's heart and a sharp gasp was heard- more of a hiss than anything else.

The remaining light bulbs above them sparked to life before bursting once more, swallowing the room in darkness before emergency lights flew to life by the door, providing just enough light to see that the woman was gone.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thank you so much for reading and please let me know what you think if you have the time! I'd really appreciate it! :)**_


	8. Porcelain

**_A/N: I suck at schedules, I'm sorry I'm not even going to try anymore. You'll get a chapter when I write it from now on. Anyway, thank you so much to those of ya'll who have replied to this story I love getting the email notifications that one of ya'll has faved or followed or reviewed- it really makes my day and I want ya'll to know that I see it and I really appreciate it! :)_**

* * *

Cassia bolted through the halls as soon as the lights flew back on, gone from the room within seconds, her heart clenching painfully in her chest, tears brimming in her eyes from the pain.

A small whimper escaped her- her throat burned with thirst and her limbs trembled with need as stress weighed down each and every step she took.

She needed… she needed _him_.

Where was he?

Who had those people been?

She had caught flashes of their faces- much to brief to make them more than a blur in her memory. She had not taken a moment to glance at them before she ran and she worried her lip under razor sharp teeth as she flew through her thoughts.

What if _he_ had been with them?

She stopped for a moment and blew out a raspy breath, focusing her thoughts with difficulty as she searched for him using the bond.

She blinked.

He _is_ here.

She stumbled to her knees as her thirst overcame her and she felt tears run down her cheeks in pain and stress. Falling to the floor, she curled back up, her form quivering as hunger pains raced through her, her canines lengthening beneath her lips as they began to ache hollowly with need.

She faintly heard footsteps running her way from the opposite end of the long hallway.

"Buck, I found her!"

The voice was masculine, rich with relief and concern and it pierced Cassia like a hot blade and she curled further inward to escape even as a part of her yearned to hear it again.

The male's scent came next- warm honey glazed bread and summer heat.

Her beast purred in excitement- _he would do_ , the beast crooned and Cassia shivered, trying hard to not move from her spot, her eyes clenched shut as she hoped he wouldn't come any closer.

 _No other blood beside_ _ **his**_ **.** Cassia snapped back at the beast and she could picture its emacitated face in her mind's eye- like a wolf that had gone hungry over a long untamed winter, scarred from battles untold and beaten from abuse at the hands of hunters.

But she could still see the brilliance in it's sharp gaze- it's eyes identical to her own in almost every way, though the wolf's stare glinted with cutting cleverness, made wise from it's narrow tangles with death.

The unknown male stepped closer and closer, and Cassia whimpered as he knelt down beside her.

"Hey…" He whispered softly, "I'm not going to hurt you…"

Cassia shook her head slightly and he gently grasped her hands, pulling them away from where she cradled them against her chest.

"Come on, we have to get you somewhere warm."

Warm? He was warm.

More footsteps were approaching and a familiar scent drew closer- roasted chestnuts, pine, and hot coffee.

 _ **Mate.**_ Her beast purred, preening beneath their shared skin and Cassia felt her own scent of sweet apples and rose buds strengthen as if to pull him closer.

She kept her eyes closed even after she felt the other male wrap his arms around her and lift her up against his broad chest. Her head fell against his shoulder weakly and her quivering began to worsen as she tried hard not to latch onto his throat.

She was so thirsty- so desperate for blood that it made her skin feel drawn tight, like it was cracking under the pressure- even the scent of her own blood began to drive her mad as her nails pierced the skin of her palms and her shivering worsened as a result.

Her mate's scent clung to this male and she could vaguely sense that he was a beta- did her mate have a new beta?

He hummed softly, as if to soothe her, but all it did was make her focus more on his throat as she could now not avoid the sound of the rushing of his blood beneath his skin.

She fought to keep her eyes shut as if that would somehow make this easier on her.

It didn't.

She licked her chapped lips and she felt him begin to walk to the end of the hall where her mate had stopped.

"Stevie, let me take her." He said and she felt the other male nod and hand her gently over to her mate.

His voice was still rough, but not as rough as it had been before and it made him feel somewhat unfamiliar as they drew closer.

Cassia whimpered again and clenched her hands tight.

"Relax." He bid her and she tried. She really did.

It was too much and she was too weak to fight off the instincts bourne of her hunger.

In a single movement, she rose her head up just enough to latch onto his throat, barely preparing the zone with a lick of her tongue before sinking her teeth in.

"Buck?!"

The beta's shout went unheeded by her as she lost herself in the pleasure of blood taking.

Her mate fell back a step and she purred in satisfaction as hot and heady lifeblood poured down her throat, slaking her thirst for the first time in what felt like decades.

Had it really been so long since she'd tasted him against her lips?

No matter how alluring his scent had been his blood tasted far beyond that- every drop tasted of delicate flavors that she had never tasted in a human beyond him, giving his blood a full bodied taste that pulled her in deeper with every passing moment, his mind opening to her like a spring rose opening its petals for the first time in a new year as the bonds between bloomed to life once more.

The first, the only one he would ever feel- that of Alpha and Omega, lit a fire beneath her skin as her omega yearned for the touch of his skin against hers, the feeling of his heat bonding with her's.

She felt crazed with it, but the second bond between them kept her in check- the one between a vampire and their mate.

Her beast was too busy enjoying the taste of his blood against her tongue to feel the need to reaffirm their bond physically, too busy feeling his mind connect to her own once more, too busy feeling the pleasure he recycled back to her from her bite to bother with anything more carnal.

No, the bonds bursting back to life brought her a closeness with him that not even sex could compare to and she continued to purr in pleasure as his hands gripped into her thighs and arm for purchase as he unconsciously pulled her even closer.

He righted himself after a moment, groaning in pleasure beneath her lips as her hands unclenched and wrapped around his neck to pull him closer.


	9. The Red

Bucky groaned and righted himself once more, "I'm fine, Stevie."

His words sounded distracted even to him as his mind became overcome by the bond as it reawakened almost fully with a flourish. He had felt the sting in his throat as she bit his neck but the stinging sensation had been replaced with a pleasure that straddled the line between sexual release and immense satisfaction and he felt weighed down by it- bogged down as warmth flowed into him from where her lips met his skin.

"Buck! Sh-She's-"

Bucky blinked and suddenly recognized the feeling of a tongue licking his neck, falling against the neighboring steel wall and sliding down to the floor, careful not to disturb her unwittingly.

Her scent flooded his senses- sweet and fruity and reminding him of a spring day as spring began to transition to summer- making his dazed mind even more difficult to sort through.

He needed to think clearly and he couldn't do that while she drank from him, but something held him back from unlatching her- something that said he couldn't, that she needed him for this and that it was his duty as her mate.

He groaned and felt himself harden before he felt Steve rip her away.

She whimpered, her blue eyes distant and unseeing as his beta held her back with care.

He slowly came down from his high and tapped his hand against his neck to see a bit of blood slowly clotting.

He glanced at her as he fully returned to himself in shock as he realization struck.

She had fallen prone in Steve's arms, falling into a deep sleep, some of his blood still clinging to her chin.

"What is she?"

Bucky glanced at his beta.

"I don't know."

He suspected, but they needed to know for certain.

 _A whisper of Wanda's voice- "They called her a demon."_

Bucky blew out a breath and stood carefully.

"Let's get back to the plane."

* * *

Clint piloted and the rest of the team surrounded him to discuss what they had found at the base.

The unnamed female had been laid to rest in the only rest area that plane had to offer, a small bed with heavy blankets. Steve had tucked her in and left her to sleep with Bucky watching her with a critical eye as she turned over in her sleep.

Her skin had made an immediate improvement, turning to a healthier shade of porcelain, her lips turning to a pale rose kissed pink.

They had left her alone at the back of the plane to sleep and Bucky was calm with the knoweledge that she wouldn't be awake for quite some time, or at least so he could guess by how distant her mind felt against his own as she slept.

"She drinks blood? I don't know, Cap- I wouldn't call her a demon, I'd call her a vampire." Clint sighed, scratching his stubbled jaw for a moment.

Sam pulled back from patching up Bucky's neck, "Where she bit you should have caused you to bleed out, especially if Steve ripped her off. But you're already nearly healed."

Wanda hummed as she dug through some of the files they had discovered, quieting abruptly as one caught her eye.

"It's all in German, but I think this file is about her."

Bucky took it from her and translated, "Operation Enchantress."

He skimmed the file for a few minutes, "It is her's, though it cuts off in 1969, when they introduced us."

He sighed, "She was declared too delicate for any field work after an experiment gone bad. They switched her onto Operation…"

He went silent as he read further into the file, horror rising up in him at what he found.

His expression must have shown as much.

"Is it really that bad?" Sam asked, brows furrowing in concern.

Bucky could sense Steve's worry as well and he stood from his seat, swallowing.

"I'm going to be sick."

He threw the file down on the chair and headed to the back to sit down.

God- they had… made her into an omega.

It had said she hadn't presented after the experiments they had done on her for the first operation- but they- God.

He ran a hand over his eyes in weariness.

His mind couldn't help but flash back to the memory Wanda had summoned- his mate's voiceless screams in the background as he unwrapped their young to see for himself.

He hadn't told Steve about it yet- couldn't bear to speak it aloud.

More memories were beginning to come forward as he traced the memories he had already recovered back- they had both been behaving strangely- omegas acted oddly as they prepared to give birth but he hadn't been able to leave her side but for a few minutes at a time and the higher ups had taken to delivering food to their room so he wouldn't deteriorate.

She had been a siren to his senses and he had done anything he thought he could to please her.

She hadn't been hard to please but still- that couldn't have been normal.

Steve approached him then, holding another file.

He sat down next to him and swallowed. "There's another one."

Bucky took it from him after a moment of silence.

He opened it up and scanned the documents that were written in plain english:

 _The asset has been providing the subject with sustenance. He shows signs of over aggression and a protectiveness not seen in other alphas. He shows signs of taking on the subject's alien qualities and we believe this will only continue should they be allowed to solidify the bond in full. We have introduced toxins designed to begin to sever the bond in the asset's food and believe the subject will take them in as well. We hope this does not affect the foetus but nonetheless we have been given direction to destroy the project that was originally designed for the foetus_.

A later note:

 _The toxins do not appear to be working and the subject appears to grow more dependent on the asset then previous events have shown. We have been directed to immediately separate them as soon as the subject goes into labor._

Bucky crinkled the file in his hand before handing it back to Steve.

"Stevie…"

"I know, Buck. We'll figure it out."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thanks for reading- please review/comment if you have the time, I really want to know what ya'll think! :)**_


	10. Start Again

_**A/N: Hope you enjoy :)**_

Cassia blinked as she came to in a small hospital room, a crass beeping invading her senses and driving her into an immediate panic which only served to make the beeping grow louder and more frequent.

Her eyes flew open and light blinded her briefly as she tore off the monitors sticking to her fingertips and ripped out the IV in her arm.

A nurse came bolting into the room as Cassia stumbled off the bed and into the corner near the window.

It was the middle of the day and Cassia hissed as her eyes burned from contact with the sun for the first time in decades at least. Her hands shook as she clawed at her arms to tear off the tape and wires still clinging to her skin.

The nurse bolted back out of the room for more help and Cassia too the brief window of time to fly out the room in the blink of an eye. In moments she was down several flights of stairs and hiding in a darkened closet to gather her thoughts.

Her eyes still burned from sun exposure and her ears still rung from the beeping of the machines.

She hated machines, hated injections, hated anything medical.

Her head ached and she could feel her nose begin to bleed as she slid down to the floor of the closet. She was too weak to do anything, could barely think as her head pounded.

Her eyes were cast to the floor, glad for the darkness that calmed her.

She heard footsteps approach a few minutes later and she cast out her senses and caught the scent of the beta from before- from when they awakened her.

He stopped at the door and blew out a breath before opening the door.

Her eyes kept downcast until he sighed, "Why did you leave the clinic? You still need to be checked over to make sure you're alright."

She bit her lip before looking up at him, seeming to force him to a stop. For a moment they were silent until he was forced to blink.

He swallowed and held out a hand and she took it, bracing herself to stand.

Cassia was shaky on her feet for a moment, but he was patient and helped steady her. She smiled gently and he replied in kind, pulling her out of the closet and into bright light.

She grimaced and kept her eyes on the floors.

"What's wrong?" He asked and she focused on replying.

 _The light is too bright._

He was shocked by the sound of her voice in his mind but stilled for only a moment, "Well.. Let's just get you back to the clinic."

She shook her head passionately, _No clinic._

He sighed, "Alright. No clinic."

He gripped her hand and pulled her to the elevator and took her up to his teams allotted quarters.

Wanda was the only one out in the living area and she quickly stood when they arrived. She was silent as she scanned Cassia with a bitten lower lip before blowing out a breath and forcing herself to relax.

"I…I'll get you some actual clothes."

Cassia glanced down to find herself in a thin hospital gown- it was better than nothing and better than what the scientists at the base had given her. The hospital gown preserved most of her modesty instead of the shoddy bra and panty she had worn during experiments, anyway.

They had given her a few pieces of clothing to wear for the rare occasions she wasn't being poked and prodded and she thought she had been wearing one of the two dresses she had owned before she woke up in the clinic.

The younger girl bolted from the room and reappeared two minutes later to find Cassia sitting in a chair with her legs tucked daintily beneath her, Steve having left the room to grab Bucky who was sleeping in their room.

Cassia gazed at Wanda with curiosity, _Why are you so nervous?_

Wanda blushed and handed her a dress, turning red as a beet when the blonde woman quickly undressed.

"Um-ah-uh…" She sputtered in mild shock.

Cassia changed into the proffered dress, slinking into it as the males re-entered the room to find Cassia cocking a brow at the gaping witch.

"Um…" Wanda breathed, holding out a heavy sweater that the blonde threw on with a smile.

 _Thank you…_

"Wanda." Steve introduced and Cassia smiled softly.

 _Thank you, Wanda._

Cassia looked away from the redhead and at the two males, her smile leaving her face slowly.

Her mate's gaze never strayed from her and she slowly began to still like one of the wooden figurines that had lined her childhood bedroom's windowsill, apprehension filling her.

Steve blew out a breath, "Hey Wanda, let's go grab something to eat. Clint and Sam are probably in the mess."

Cassia caught the redhead flitting past her, looking grateful for the invitation and unwittingly clenched her hands before relaxing them.

Neither of them moved until the door to the apartments shut with a click.

Cassia blew out a breath, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. He barely breathed feet away from her and she wrapped her fingers in the thick sleeves of the sweater.

She wanted to know what he was thinking- needed to- but she wouldn't go digging in his mind without his permission.

She could feel him through the thinner bond- the one he was incapable of reciprocating as one of her kind could. On the more concentrated bond she could feel his intense anxiety and she knew she had to say something- anything- to break him out of it.

She opened her mouth just as he spoke, "What- what is your name?"

Cassia stiffened and swallowed.

 _You don't remember my name?_

He tensed in return before forcing himself to relax, "No-I… Hydra has wiped me more than a dozen times since I saw you last."

 _Cassia Grace._

Her reply was soft and the lilt of her breathless words garnered her a nod, a brilliant flush lightening his cheeks.

He was irritated with himself and was a bit relieved to know she wasn't the only one to note just how uncomfortable their situation was.

"You already know my name?" he asked and she nodded.

 _I heard the others call you Bucky._

His eyes widened slightly and he stepped forward. His scent swam in the air between them and she quickly stopped breathing, thankful for one of her race's saving graces.

"I…" He trailed off, at a loss for words.

She found it endearing, though she knew how infuriating it could be to stumble over oneself. She swayed her weight to her right leg and if she could blush she would have as she spotted him stare at her for a few moments without speaking.

His expression was not judgemental per say, more appraising as he scanned her up and down.

It made her uncomfortable to be looked at so critically, but she said nothing to put an end to it.

She blew out a breath a minute later and he seemed to realize that he was staring at her, quickly looking away.

"A-ah, let's forget about the past two minutes…" He murmured, his eyes downcast as his hand rubbed the back of his neck.

She smiled, _Sure._


End file.
